A high-speed network environment typically includes network devices such as routers and switches used for transferring packets and/or data traffic from sources to destinations via communication networks such as IP and/or packet-based networks. Depending on forwarding addresses, data packets are typically routed by one or more network devices or nodes via a communication network such as Internet and/or Ethernet. A conventional packet travels through many network devices before it reaches its destination. The number of network devices or nodes in a network environment may change because the configuration of the network constantly changes. For example, multiple new devices may be added while attached devices may be deactivated.
Typical network devices require monitoring, maintenance, and upgrading in order for them to performance efficiently. When a network device, for example, is upgraded with new software, the functionalities and connectivity of the device need to be verified before it can be activated or attached to the network. To verify a network device, a manual testing or automatic regression tests may be used.
For example, automated test scripts, which depend on value of a given field at a particular location within command line interface (“CLI”) show output, are typically used to run or execute a set of verification tests. However, when the new software alters certain locations of values due to added parameters, the existing automated test scripts may no longer work since location of some parameters may be changed in the show output, thereby error may be flagged.
For example, a script scans an output for a specific defined string such as “Tag5” based on the location of the value within a show output. After locating “Tag5”, “value5” which may be situated at a location after “Tag5” is extracted. However, the script will fail to identify “Tag5” if “Tag5” is no longer located at the previously known location within the show output due to added field(s) such as discount field or 4G field.